Rep. Jason Chaffetz Tries To Deny That Republican Premium Support Plan Is A Voucher Program

Soledad O’Brien on CNN held Chaffetz’s feet to the fire when he tried to claim that what Romney/Ryan want to do is eventually turn Medicare in to a voucher program. Chaffetz also repeated the falsehood that President Obama cut $700 billion from Medicare, even as he voted to reduce expenditures by the same number.

Chaffetz reiterated the argument that President Obama essentially cut over $700 billion from Medicare to fund his own ObamaCare plan, prompting O’Brien to note that “we have had this conversation 15 times at least.”

“As you know,” she told him, “it’s not taking money out of Medicare. It’s a decrease in spending over time, and it’s a decrease that you yourself, I’m assuming, voted for in Paul Ryan’s budget in 2011 and in 2012. He had that same number in his budget. Didn’t you vote for that?”

“It’s not exactly the same number,” said Chaffetz.

“But now you’re criticizing something that you voted for twice, right?” O’Brien continued. “I mean, essentially, you voted for it.”